PARC Recreation Center Ribbon-Cutting Scheduled For Feb. 2

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Prairie Activity and Recreation Center — PARC for short — opened its doors this month in Plainfield, but an official ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 2, at 9 a.m. Officials say tours, family-friendly activities and free giveaways are planned.

Operated by the Plainfield Park District, the massive, 40,000 square-foot facility gives Plainfield residents plenty of options for getting in shape, including an elevated indoor track, full-sized basketball court and 4,000 square-foot fitness center.

Voters approved the recreation center in a November 2016 referendum, which authorized the park district to issue $10.5 million in bonds. The total costs for the facility come to about $7 million, $1 million dollars of which was defrayed through a grant from the Clean Energy Foundation, officials said, thanks to energy-efficient building materials and an 18,000 square-foot roof-top solar panel system to offset electricity usage.

The recreation center is the first park district building in Illinois to receive a Net-Zero designation from the Clean Energy Foundation, says the park district's executive director, Carlo Capalbo. To qualify, buildings must offset all of their energy consumption with renewable energy, according to the Clean Energy Foundation's website.

Capalbo said PARC has been a long-overdue amenity for a district the size of Plainfield. The facility will be the new home for the park district's Great Adventures preschool program and allow youth basketball programs and others to have their own dedicated space as well, he explained. It will also serve as a central hub for fitness activities for the community.

"We're really excited for our residents to come see PARC and look forward to bringing more programming options to the community there," he said in a statement.

Find more information here.

Image via Plainfield Park District